Carpet fitter left lumps in carpet how do I claim

Bettyboop79

Need some advice on how to claim for poor workmanship of the carpet fitter we had to lay our carpet in the bedroom.  We paid him £350 for 2 rooms and he told use he would use 8mm plywood and only used 4mm. He also left lumps under and by the entrance of the door.  I’ve contacted him on numerous occasions to come and rectify the issue, he promises to come and never turns up.  It’s been over a year now and I want to get this issue sorted. Can I claim for this and how do I go about it? 

elsien

Do you have a written quote with the specification? If you knew he was using the wrong plywood, why did you let him continue?

You were probably looking at a letter before action and then the small claims route. 

Bettyboop79

I was in work when he was laying the floor. Only WhatsApp messages, I have messaged him asking him to come back 3 times and he’s failed to return. 

elsien

How do you know he has used the wrong plywood if you weren't there - do your whatsapp messages specify what he agreed to use? 3 messages in 12 months is hardly chasing him - that may be why he is not taking you seriously.

You need to send him a proper letter before action giving him the opportunity to put things right.
Example here depending on whether he is a sole trader or a company - you need to properly check which template you would use because I don't know.
Letter before small claims court claim - Which?

@DullGreyGuy or @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head     might be able to help.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Services must be carried out with due care and skill and anything the trader says or writes forms part of the contract so if the job was to prep floor with ply and then lay carpet but the ply is either the wrong thickness for the job or the prep (and/or carpet laying) wasn't carried out with due care and skill you can either claim a price reduction if a repeat performance is not forthcoming or claim damages (cost of correcting the work) for breach of contract. 

Burden of proof lies with yourself, can you find a local carpet shop who would come out, put in writing what is wrong with the job and a quote to fix it? 

In terms of 8mm vs 4mm, if this was written then obviously it's easy to prove, if it was verbal then harder to prove and while worth mentioning focusing on 4mm not being sufficient to level the floor might be a better avenue, 4mm ply (is it 3.6mm?) is pretty thin and wobbly, I'm not a floor expert but would assume you'd need thicker than that to assist in evening out an uneven floor. 

Do you have/can you find a name and address for the fitter who has already been?